EPA deal to cut pollution in Port of New York/New Jersey

The agreements between the port, terminal operators and the Environmental Protection Agency is aimed at reducing emissions from idling trucks and terminal equipment.    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday agreements with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and port terminal operators will cut harmful air pollution.
   Under the agreements, the Port Authority, APM Terminals North America, Maher Terminals and Port Newark Container Terminals will reduce truck idling at the port of Newark and take other actions to reduce harmful air pollution from diesel exhaust.
   The Port Authority’s actions will include providing $200,000 funding for truck owner-operators over five years to replace older trucks serving the port with newer, lower-emission trucks, and placing anti-idling signs on port roadways. The Port Authority will also provide funding up to $1.5 million (if approved by its Board of Commissioners) for terminal operators who connect their cargo handling equipment to alternative sources of power such as electricity. In addition, the Port Authority will assist truck operators in creating a system to manage truck traffic to further reduce air pollution.
   “Diesel pollution from idling trucks can make people sick and damage the environment. It is imperative that trucks, especially in heavily congested port areas, reduce idling,” said Judith Enck, EPA Regional Administrator. “The children of Newark suffer from asthma at a rate three times higher than the state average. These agreements should help relieve the burden.”
   The terminal operators will provide anti-idling instructions at gate entrances, install anti idling signs, and undertake driver education efforts to reduce idling. The three major terminal operators also will provide a total of $600,000 to the City of Newark, to be used to pay for green infrastructure projects in areas that are most impacted by air pollution from port operations.
   Under New Jersey state law, diesel-powered motor vehicles are generally prohibited from idling for more than three consecutive minutes when they are not in motion.
   A Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spokesman did not know exactly how many new trucks the $200,000 would fund. In 2012, the port authority won an award for significant port-related emission reductions from the EPA. That involved committing $69 million to help buy 429 cleaner-burning trucks, install shore power at the Brooklyn cruise terminal, provide incentives for ships to use low-sulfur fuel, help fund cleaner cargo handling equipment, and retrofit port locomotives with ultra low emitting generator sets.